Black silkies

[suebee]

I've been "sort of" following this thread and was wondering if this was your first baby Amy? You seemed very calm and relaxed about the whole thing! I guess the word would be "nonchalant".

Beautiful baby! Congrats!

 

[kelar]

Congrats Amy - she is so gorgeous I just want to give her a hug

 

[cityslickers]

Quote:
Congratulations absolutely precious!!!

Hope you are feeling well. And you did an Amazing job

Beautiful!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Hi, I would like to ask advice about selecting a cockerel between my two choices for my black breeding program. Right now I have 2 black pullets and 2 cockerels. Both pullets are nice but both cockerels have problems. One has overall nicer type and slightly larger, rounder crest, and a solid black color (with greenish sheen in the tail), but only 4 toes (I know that's really bad) and his wings are so-so. The other one has good toes and better wings, but gold leakage in his hackles. Which one should I use?

I had pretty much planned on selling the 4 toed boy for a pet, but if I could get a good 5 toed baby out of him it would probably help me to bypass the gold hackles.

TIA.

My recommendation: pair each cockerel with a pullet and collect (and hatch) their eggs for a few weeks. Mark the chicks so you know the father & mother. Then switch partners adn do the same thing again. Document what you are getting as far as toe numbers, wing carriage and type. You may be able to tell early on to get rid of one or the other, or you may need to wait a good long while until the chicks mature. But you will have documented reasons for going one way or the other.

 

[ultasol]

Sorry- I had a show this weekend. Did well with the silkies. Showed a lav for the first time, although she's quite young. Had a blast.

For the person with question on the black, I agree with Sonoran, although my experience is more limited. Another person to ask is AmyJo.

Amy- SO stinking ADORABLE!! Almost makes me want one! I'm at that age where the hormones are telling me to make babies, and each wet diaper, baby photo, or babysitting favor just tugs at my heartstrings. She is just GORGEOUS- love the hair! Love the face! OMG baby hands! Awwwwwwwwwwwww.... I just love babies (but then again, I've only had the returnable kind). Congratulations, and I hope she's a good sleeper that never has a colicky day. I hope the recovery goes smoothly.

 

[destiny_56085]

I'm exhausted! Between the unpacking, people stopping over, filling out endless paperwork to add the newbie to insurance, diaper changes, feedings, baths, etc. I haven't had much time in between yet. I've gotten 6 hours of sleep since thursday night and maybe 9 total since tuesday night when this all began. Partially my own fault for not kicking people out and just laying down to sleep every time the baby does. This morning I get to try and tackle the carseat and 1st doctor appointment with the baby.

How'd the show go Jen? You're probably just getting home and tired from the weekend too... Just get on whenever you get time.

Lisser... My choice on those cockerels would be easy. First of all I won't keep a 4 toed bird. I'd rather put up with a double toenail or 6th claw (not that I like them either). Questionable wings? I'd have to see if they were just a lil loose due to age or if they were split/twisted/etc. If the bird's type is inferior and it has 2 very major DQ's that you know will pass down, then why even consider that bird? A lil bit of off-color in black males is not a major killer. I can probably use 1 hand to count the number of truly jet black males with awesome body type that I have ever seen so far. When you select just for color and forget about body type, you take 10 steps backwards it seems like. That off colored bird will still produce some really nice pullets and has a chance at some clear cockerels out of him too. Now if you were to use the 1st cockerel with faults, you'd still have a good chance of getting those same off-colored cockerels out of the deal simply because of the hen's heritage. But in that scenerio, you are also battling with culling for toes & wings hardcore too.

 

[The Lisser]

Quote:
Hi, I would like to ask advice about selecting a cockerel between my two choices for my black breeding program. Right now I have 2 black pullets and 2 cockerels. Both pullets are nice but both cockerels have problems. One has overall nicer type and slightly larger, rounder crest, and a solid black color (with greenish sheen in the tail), but only 4 toes (I know that's really bad) and his wings are so-so. The other one has good toes and better wings, but gold leakage in his hackles. Which one should I use?

I had pretty much planned on selling the 4 toed boy for a pet, but if I could get a good 5 toed baby out of him it would probably help me to bypass the gold hackles.

TIA.

My recommendation: pair each cockerel with a pullet and collect (and hatch) their eggs for a few weeks. Mark the chicks so you know the father & mother. Then switch partners adn do the same thing again. Document what you are getting as far as toe numbers, wing carriage and type. You may be able to tell early on to get rid of one or the other, or you may need to wait a good long while until the chicks mature. But you will have documented reasons for going one way or the other.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[The Lisser]

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Thank you for the advice! Sounds good, and I can't believe you are so coherent with so little sleep!!! I remember those days . . . they weren't all that long ago (my DD is 5 now). The lack of sleep was really hard, but as they get older it gets easier and easier. Now she helps me paint the coops and gets the eggs.

 

[ultasol]

Even better yet- get a better cockerel. Put off other bird purchases- remember, a good cockerel can breed more than one pullet, his genes will affect your flock more than a good pullet will. Use one or both while you save up- but be prepared to cull like crazy. If you don't have a home for all the boys, look into your Asian community.

No need to buy the perfect specimen, but get one that you can afford and look for type.

I got BB and RB with my blacks, the blues got BV and RV although the judge, who I know well, wrote comments on the blue's cards saying "where's the lacing" (he believes no silkie colors that require pattern should ever have been accepted- he's a really nice gent though and I am always happy to see him), BV with lav (only one there though), BV and RV white, didn't take any buff or SG. Best heavy goose with my favorite gray Dewlap Toulouse gander,. BV and RV LF wyandotte with my SLW. I did ok. I really enjoyed seeing all the chicken people, had fun getting confused with the raffle.

Oh, and when cooping in my SLW hen had a poop of epic (I do mean epic) proportions all over my jeans and jacket. I think she was saving up to bomb me.

The winner of the show was Joe Mazur with his wonderful black bantam cochins, reserve was Heather Hays with an OEG. Those two are hard to beat. Joe Mazur was Ch FL at Ohio National, and I can't remember how heather did there, but it was also impressive. Sheryl did decently with her cochins, and got Ch waterfowl with her sebastopols, and she had a nice white silkie pullet there that should have beat my pullet, but somehow the judge missed the light comb on my white pullet (my white pullets are a work in progress, although I've got good boys). My camera is being naughty, but hopefully I can get the pics off somehow, someway, soon.

I hope you're getting rest, Amy. Make the visitors come at organized times, so you can expect them and get it done in groups. They will understand your need to rest. How are you feeling?

 

[Germaine_11.20]